The Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Neonates Hospitalized with Lower Respiratory Tract Viral Infections

Objective: We aimed to define the clinical and epidemiological features of neonates hospitalized in the neonatal care unit with virus-related to lower respiratory tract infections in this study. Material and Methods: The neonates who were hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infection between January 2014 and December 2015 were evaluated for clinical features and the viruses were identified on multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction using nasal swab samples. Neonates with congenital heart disease, malformation of the respiratory tract, immune deficiency and nosocomial virus infection were excluded. Results: Eighty-one (4.6%) of 1768 neonates were admitted to NICU with lower respiratory tract infection during the study period. In 56 of 81 patients, a virus was identified from the nasal swab sample. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the most common etiology (80.4%, n=45), four patients had RSV co-infection (7.1%), and seven patients had a virus other than RSV (12.5%). Infants were hospitalized most frequently in January and February. The median postnatal age at admission of RSV-positive neonates was significantly lower than the neonates with causes other than RSV (21 vs. 41 days, p=0.011). The signs at admission, laboratory analyses and the respiratory support of RSV-positive neonates and neonates with causes other than RSV were similar. The mean hospitalization duration of all patients was 7.1±3.6 1Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, Neonatoloji Bilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye 2Sami Ulus Kadın ve Çocuk Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Yenidoğan Bölümü, Ankara, Türkiye 3Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, Çocuk Enfeksiyon Hastalıkları Bilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye Emel OKULU1, Hasan AKDUMAN2, Gaffari TUNÇ1, Ergin ÇİFTÇİ3, Erdal İNCE3, Ömer ERDEVE1, Saadet ARSAN1, Begüm ATASAY1 Viral Alt Solunum Yolu Enfeksiyonu Nedeniyle Yatırılan Yenidoğanların Epidemiyolojik ve Klinik Özellikleri The Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Neonates Hospitalized with Lower Respiratory Tract Viral Infections